TWELVE I left Aunt Marie’s and came home to Roscoe sleeping in front of the television. Mom and Ava were gone, so I had no one to talk to or distract me. I put on some gym clothes and attempted to exercise and hopefully work up a sweat, but that didn’t quite work out. My attempts to call both Sophie and Catie were also colossal failures, as I got voicemail for both of them. After roaming anxiously around the house, I decided to put my gym clothes and sneakers to use. The air was crisp but not too cold. As I got to the end of the block, I stopped to play with Scooter, the cocker spaniel that belonged to old Ms. Grier. She was the resident grumpy lady, so I was naturally shocked when she walked over to me. I was really taken aback when she actually spoke to me.
“Hello there,” she said, not
